The Howling of the Hounds
by GeneticallyElvenGryffindor
Summary: (AU Before OoP) What if the lines between Middle Earth and the Wizarding World weren't so clear? What if one universe could help the other during their hour of need? What if the dead could be brought back? What if...read to see
1. The Portal Traveler and the Portal

(AN: This is the first Harry Potter/LotR cross over I've posted on the site. Please be kind. I appreciate constructive criticism and I enjoy reviews. Also, if you're confused, everyone one of my characters has a back story I just have to type out. I'm going to try and upload them as soon as possible. This page may help a bit)  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing! The only characters, thus far, I own are Patrick, Cora, and Niphredil. I'm just a broke college student who does this for fun. I own nothing except my Pointe shoes.  
  
(AN: *words* indicates something being sung)  
  
The wizard breathed easily as he slipped in between the portal that separated his earth from Middle Earth. He was safe in the knowledge that his niece, Cora, had been left with her cousin, the famous Harry Potter, and would be picked up by two of his closest friends within a few hours. The wizard scanned his surroundings and slipped into another portal.  
  
This portal took him into the heart of a large forest full of golden trees. "Lothlorien," he breathed, taking in his surroundings. This was his destination and the reason he had left his niece in the Muggle world. The woods were very quiet today; most of the elves were heading west. Suddenly, he heard someone singing.  
  
  
  
*There's a Lady who's sure all that glitters is gold  
  
and she's buying a stairway to heaven*  
  
The wizard laughed softly and thought to himself, "That's what I'm here to do. I'm trying to get that stairway to heaven." He looked around for the source of the song and, not readily locating it, he continued to walk. He hoped that the girl he had heard was in these woods was still there.  
  
  
  
*When she gets there she knows if the stores are all closed  
with a word she can get what she came for  
  
Oooo....and she's buying a stairway to heaven.*  
  
"There's that song again," the wizard thought, trying to find its source. He spotted the singer sitting on a flower covered hill. "Good, she's still here," the wizard though approaching the singer.  
  
  
  
*There's a sign on the wall but she wants to be sure  
  
cause you know sometimes words have two meanings  
  
In the tree by the brook, there's a song bird who sings  
  
sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiven  
  
oooo.....it makes me wonder*  
  
The wizard slowly approached the hill, not wanting to destroy the flowers covering it. "There are far too few elvish things left in Middle Earth anymore," he though to himself.  
  
  
  
*There's a feeling I get when I look to the west  
  
and my spirit is crying for leaving.  
  
In my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees  
  
and the voices of those who stand looking.*  
  
The song suddenly stopped and the girl turned to face the wizard.  
  
"Patrick," she said with a smile, "How are you?"  
  
"I've been better, Niphredil. How are you and your parents?" Patrick replied.  
  
"Everyone's really good. My mom said that I had better stay here until Galadriel finished with me," Niphredil told the wizard.  
  
Patrick laughed, and said, "Your mother would know better than to have you annoy her grandmother. Any word from your grandfather on when you're leaving?"  
  
"Grandfather said that he'll stay for as long as I want to. He knows that means, he's going to have to stay until both my parents die," the girl answered.  
  
"That song you were singing before, it was really nice. It's not elvish, is it?" the wizard asked.  
  
Niphredil blushed and replied, "No. It was a song I learned when I lived with those humans. It's called Stairway to Heaven by the group called Led Zeppelin. Galadriel said that's the reason you're here. You want to build a stairway to heaven."  
  
Patrick nodded and admitted, "I do and I think that's why we're both here at the same time."  
  
The elf and the wizard walked is silence for a while until they reached the location of Galadriel's Mirror. The ancient elf was standing there, looking young as usual. She nodded a greeting to her great- granddaughter. The elven girl (by her great-grandmother's standards, no more than a child) returned the nod and made her way over to where she stood.  
  
"I brought him here just like you asked, Galadriel," the young elf said.  
  
"Very good, child," Galadriel said.  
  
Niphredil turned to leave but Galadriel said, "Stay, your skills will be needed."  
  
The old elf then turned to face Patrick. This wizard, despite coming to Lothlorien more times than he could possibly count, lowered his eyes. Her commanding presence had always made him nervous.  
  
"I know why you are here, wizard," she said to him.  
  
"I know, you know. Is it possible? The darkest of the dark wizards has just returned to our world and they would be a great help to us," Patrick said.  
  
"Then, this is not done for selfish reasons?" the elf asked.  
  
"It is not," the wizard answered, honestly. He knew better than to lie to Galadriel. She would find out anyway.  
  
"You know, Patrick, that our people value life above all things. The deaths of your friends were, what we call, an unnecessary set of deaths. That is, they were not meant to die when they did," the elf explained.  
  
"But, that really doesn't make any sense. Their deaths, especially the deaths of the Potters, ended the reign of You-Know-Who," Patrick, sensibly, rationalized.  
  
"It does sound odd, I will attest to that, but this is what is mean to happen now. Just like, that was meant to happen then," the elf said, sending Patrick's mind running in circles.  
  
While the wizard tried to puzzle out what the elf said, she turned to her great-granddaughter.  
  
"You'll be going in after these four wizards, you know that. This is why you are here and this is why I have been working you so hard," she told the young elf.  
  
"But how will I know them and how will then know to trust me?" the young elf asked, sounding worried.  
  
"We must consider that. Patrick, come here," the old elf requested.  
  
The wizard, breaking out of his reverie, came over to where Galadriel and Niphredil were standing. "Do you have any messages that you can send with Niphredil so your friends will know she is being honest," Galadriel asked the wizard.  
  
Patrick thought for a moment and said, "Alright, tell James that Moony and Padfoot are waiting for him. Tell my brother, Christopher, third room from the left duck your head when you go in and tell Lily and Daisy Petunia does not send her love," he said.  
  
The young elf nodded her understanding of the messages and turned to face Galadriel.  
  
"I'm ready," she, quietly, said.  
  
"Patrick, go wait with Celeborn. I will send for you when we are ready," Galadriel told the wizard.  
  
Patrick nodded, knowing that she would not do this is his presence, and said, "I thank you very much. You'll never know how much this means to me."  
  
He followed Celeborn, who had mysteriously appeared near the edge of the clearing, away from the two women.  
  
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Galadriel asked Niphredil. Placing her first great-grandchild, and the only one who would posses elven immortality, was not something she would do by her own choice. The choice had to be Niphredil's and Niphredil's alone.  
  
"I'm very sure. He sounds like he needs this to be done," Niphredil replied, sounding very determine.  
  
"Alright, child, but if it becomes too dangerous or you can not complete this mission come right back towards the light," Galadriel said.  
  
"But how will you know it's me?" Niphredil asked, trying to cover all the bases. Getting trapped where she was headed was not her idea of a good time. She knew the sooner this task was completed, the sooner she could go back to her home.  
  
"Continue singing the song you were singing earlier. Begin where you left off. You are the only being that knows that song," Galadriel told the young elf.  
  
Niphredil nodded and took a deep breath. Galadriel started to recite the incantation to open a portal to where Niphredil was to be sent. Niphredil, on the other hand, began to sing.  
  
* And it's whispered that soon, if we all called the tune,  
  
then the piper will lead us to reason  
  
And a new day will dawn for those who stand long  
  
and the forests will echo with laughter*  
  
"It's ready," Galadriel said. Niphredil nodded and entered the whirling portal. 


	2. A Rescue from the Brink

Disclaimer: I still own nothing; accept Niphredil, Daisy and Chris Dolan. Everything else is the properties of the respective owners. I'm your average broke college student. I do this for nothing accept fun.  
  
(AN: *words* indicate something being sung)  
  
The first thing the young elf became aware of was the fact that it was very cold and very grey where she was. It was not her first time to visit this place; she had gone once before as practice. Galadriel had explained that she was going to the Halls of Mandos or someplace quite like them. The ancient elf was not sure how she had come by these talents. It was a rare, unheard of talent.  
  
Steadying herself; Niphredil became aware that she was covered in a shiny gold film. It seemed to be keeping the spirits from seeing her for what she really was. It also protected her from the forces that kept the spirits where they were. She looked around, trying to figure out where she had last seen the spirits of earthen wizards, and headed west.  
  
  
*If there's a bustle in your hedgerow, don't be alarmed now  
  
It's just a spring clean for the May queen*  
  
Suddenly, Niphredil became aware of a fork in the road. One path lead south- west and the other headed north-east.  
  
"Great, what am I going to do now," she thought to herself.  
  
She toyed with the idea of giving up and leaving but she decided to press on. She didn't want to disappoint Patrick, especially after what he did for her. He had fully sundered her from her "Muggle" (as Patrick called them) family. That allowed her to start a new life in Middle Earth. She decided to head north-west, heeding the lyrics of the song she was singing. She would always have the ability to change her path, as the song said.  
  
  
*Yes there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run,  
  
there's still time to change the road you're on  
  
And it makes me wonder*  
  
Niphredil sighed, feeling like she had been walking for hours and not getting any closer to her goal. Actually, she wasn't sure where her goal was. She knew she's be able to tell when she had reached it, though. She had passed spirits of elves and men and other less pleasant things but no earthen wizards.  
  
"They have to be somewhere," she thought to herself, growing very frustrated.  
  
Sitting down to take a rest she surveyed her surroundings. It appeared she was sitting on a path that cut right through a flat, grey plain. There were sprits milling around everywhere she looked. Some looked miserable while other looked content to be where they were.  
  
"Sitting here's not helping the cause," she though, getting up and brushing herself off, "I've got to keep looking."  
  
*Your head in humming and it won't go in caser you don't know  
  
the piper's calling you to join him  
  
Dear lady, can't you hear the wind blow, in case you don't know,  
  
your stairway lies on the whispering wind.*  
  
"Whispering wind," Niphredil mumbled to herself.  
  
The she added, "I wonder...."  
  
There did seem in be a wind blowing, making the air hum around her. She started to follow the wind and the hum it created. This led her to an open field where a large group of spirits sat. Each of these spirits was garbed in different colored robes.  
  
"Wizards," she thought to herself, remembering how Patrick described the clothes his people typically wore.  
  
She began to wind her way through the group looking for the four people she was sent to find.  
  
"Where are they?" she thought, growing very annoyed.  
  
There were lots of spirits but she still couldn't find the four wizards Patrick wanted her to find. She was beginning to fear that they weren't among these wizards. Just by chance, she turned and found herself face to face with a wizard who had unruly dark hair and wire rimmed glasses on. Standing with him, were two women with reddish colored hair and bright green eyes and another man with dark hair that wasn't as wild as the first's. Though she didn't know their names, Niphredil let her disguise partially drop. She had a strong feeling that these were the wizards she was looking for.  
  
Niphredil wasn't sure what she looked like to the spirits in this realm but she figured it must have been something very bright because the wizards before her shielded their eyes.  
  
"What is this?!" blurted out one of the women.  
  
"Not what, I think it's a who," said the other women.  
  
"Despite what I look like here and now, I am an elf. I've been sent here to rescue you," Niphredil said, trying to keep her voice steady.  
  
"Who sent you?" asked the man with the unruly black hair.  
  
"Patrick Dolan," the elf, simply, replied.  
  
"Prove it," challenged the other dark haired man.  
  
"Alright, I'm guessing you with the glasses is James, am I right," Niphredil said, remembering the descriptions she had heard several days previous.  
  
The wizard nodded and she continued, "Patrick said Moony and Padfoot are waiting for you."  
  
She then turned to the other wizard and said, "You're Christopher, right?"  
  
"That I am. What did Patrick tell you to tell me?" the wizard said, eagerly.  
  
"He said their room from the left duck your head as you go in," the elf replied.  
  
Christopher laughed brightly and smiled knowingly.  
  
"So that leaves you two. You're Lily and Daisy, are you not?" the elf asked.  
  
The two women nodded and one said, "I'm Lily and this is Daisy."  
  
"Ok, Patrick said that Petunia does not send her love," the elf said.  
  
She looked at the four wizards as comprehension filled there faces.  
  
Suddenly, Daisy asked, "Are you really an elf? Like the ones Patrick use to tell us he saw."  
  
"I am, as a matter of fact," she replied, proudly.  
  
"Will you come with me?" the elf asked the wizards.  
  
"Come where?" asked Chris.  
  
"Out of here, that's for sure. I'll take you back to the land of the living. Patrick requested me to do this for him. Will you come?" Niphredil explained.  
  
Without hesitation, James answered, "Of course."  
  
"Good, we'd better get moving. I think the winds are changing," Niphredil mused, "the lot of you had best link hands and someone can take my hand. It's prudent we not loose anybody."  
  
The whispering wind, which has lead her to the four wizards, suddenly changed into a full fledged gale. The four wizards linked hands with James taking the elf's outstretched hand. She began to lead them back in the general direction from which she came.  
  
Niphredil moved as swiftly as her half-elven body could manage. She wasn't sure if her speed was too great for her companions but time seemed to be of the essence. The spirits around her were growing restless, almost unwilling to let her leave. She headed down this path then that, trying to find the portal back. Suddenly, a white light appeared before her. It seemed to be shrinking as she grew closer. Remembering her great-grandmother's direction, she started her song again.  
  
  
* And as we wind on down the road  
  
Our shadows taller than our soul.  
  
There walks a lady we all know  
  
Who shines white light and wants to show  
  
How ev'rything still turns to gold.  
  
And if you listen very hard  
  
The tune will come to you at last.  
  
When all are one and one is all  
  
To be a rock and not to roll.*  
  
As she exited the portal, falling with a thud to the ground, she whispered the last line of the song...And she's buying a stairway to heaven....and fell into unconsciousness.  
  
(AN: I know this breaks many of the rules Tolkien set in his works, especially the ones in Morgoth's Ring. I'm very sorry for breaking them. I'm just having a bit of fun here. Please read and review.) 


	3. The Return

(AN: If you're badly confused about the characters and things please check my profile. There's a link to my character page there. That should help a bit.)  
  
Disclaimer: Wait..I still own NOTHING! All I own are Patrick, Daisy, Chris, and Niphredil. Everything else belongs to their proper owners. I'm still just a college student who is about as broke as you can get. All I own are Pointe Shoes.  
  
The four wizards looked at one another in confusion. The scenery, for them, had changed considerably.  
  
"We're not dead anymore, are we?" asked Daisy.  
  
"I don't think we are, little sis, but I'm not so sure about her," Lily told her sister, pointing to the fallen elf.  
  
Niphredil had landed in a heap after exiting the portal. She wasn't moving and barely seemed to be breathing. The trip had exhausted her and, even with the physiology of an elf, she had been pushed to her limits. Her body, upon return, had shut down, giving it time to rest and to heal.  
  
"I hope she's not dead. I mean, would be a real shame if she was because she brought us back," James said.  
  
"What can we do to help her, though? We don't have wands," Christopher added.  
  
Before anyone could do anything, Patrick entered the clearing holding a small clear bottle and a few wafers of something wrapped in a leaf.  
  
"Patrick!" called Christopher upon seeing his brother. His first motion was toward his older brother. The two had always been close. Daisy, his wife, grabbed a handful of his robe to keep him from running over to his brother.  
  
"He's going to do something," she whispered to him.  
  
Patrick had to stop himself from running over to his brother and three friends. He had missed them all so badly. His gaze returned to the fallen elf and he remembered why he had entered the clearing. He put his hands up, as best he could, to show that he saw them. Then he pointed to the elf.  
  
"Oh, he's going to help her first," said Lily, in a whisper.  
  
They watched as Patrick knelt down beside the girl and propped her head up by placing it on his knee.  
  
He, then, pulled out his wand and whispered, "Enervate."  
  
The elf woke up and blinked blearily at the wizard.  
  
"Did it work?" she, weakly, asked.  
  
"Whatever you did, it worked. Thank you so very much," Patrick, happily, replied.  
  
He then handed her the bottle.  
  
She smiled at the wizard and said, "You know what, Patrick, I want to go home."  
  
Patrick laughed and ruffled her hair.  
  
He handed her a few wafers and told her," You'll get home soon. Just relax now."  
  
Sensing that all might be well, the four other wizards walked over to where Patrick and the elf were.  
  
"Chris," Patrick said, hugging his little brother.  
  
He, then, looked up and embraced the other three wizards.  
  
"You guys....I've missed all of you," Patrick said.  
  
"Patrick, how did you do this? You didn't get into any dark magic, did you," Daisy asked, worriedly.   
  
"Dark magic, never. This magic is about as white as white magic can get," Patrick explained. He, himself, didn't understand the specifics of this type of elfish magic  
  
"Patrick, I hate the bring down the mood," Lily began," but, that night, what happened to Harry?"  
  
"It's a long story, better told by someone more knowledgeable that myself, but he's alive and well and one his way to my house with Cora," Patrick replied.  
  
The two Potter's look confused and excited at the same time. They were glad that their son had survived the night they had died.  
  
"When are we going to get to see them?" Chris asked, excited by the prospect of seeing his daughter.  
  
"As soon as your wands get here and I can see Lady Elf safely home," Patrick replied.  
  
"Speaking of your elf friend, what's her name?" asked James.  
  
"My name," the elf said, sitting up a little further, "is Niphredil."  
  
The food and drink, elfish in virtue, had given Niphredil back a fraction of her strength.  
  
"Is there any way we can thank you? You've given us so much back," Daisy said.  
  
"It was nothing, really. I just like being able to help," she said, looking at the woods around her and smiling.  
  
Patrick caught the smile and asked, "Is someone coming?"  
  
From all his portal travels, Patrick knew of the elves and their enhanced senses.  
  
She nodded and closed her eyes. Moments later, she had fallen asleep.  
  
"Who's coming?" asked Chris, hoping he would not have to defend himself.  
  
"Got me, I don't have her eyes and ears," Patrick replied, taking out his wand.  
  
Moments later, a tallish man, with dark hair entered the clearing. He was wearing a sword and carrying a long purple pouch. Finding Patrick, he handed him the pouch which, in turn, the wizard handed to James.  
  
"I'm not sure which wand belongs to whom," Patrick said.  
  
Patrick turned to the man and said, "I didn't expect you to bring these here."  
  
"Why wouldn't I?" the man said, laughing.  
  
"I just figured that running an entire land would keep you busy. Besides, don't you have squires and pages for this sort of thing," the wizard rationalized.  
  
"I do, Patrick, but I'd like to get out and see other places sometimes. I do miss wandering around, no matter what anyone has told you," the man told the wizard.  
  
"No one's told me anything, my friend," the wizard said with a laugh.  
  
"Patrick, I want to go home!" called Chris, brandishing his wand at James.  
  
"I'm sorry but the natives are getting restless," Patrick said, shyly.  
  
"It's alright. I have to get her home anyway," the man said.  
  
He, then, bent over and picked up the sleeping elf.  
  
The girl mumbled and rolled over, slightly, to face the person picking her up.  
  
Opening one eye, the elf mumbled, "Hi, daddy."  
  
The man laughed and said to her," Go back to sleep. You've had a busy day."  
  
"We're going home now, right?" she asked, settling back into his arms.  
  
"Of course," the man said to her.  
  
The man began to leave when, suddenly, Patrick stopped him. He placed a wrapped parcel on top of the sleeping elf.  
  
"What's that?" the man asked.  
  
"Portkey," the wizard said," I have a funny feeling I'm going to be needing you and your daughter soon."  
  
The man nodded and entered a portal Patrick had just opened in a nearby tree.  
  
"So, when do we leave?' asked James.  
  
"Just as soon as I can open a portal," Patrick replied. 


	4. The Cousins and the Hollow

AN: Thank to my 3 Reviewers! I greatly appreciate it!  
  
CapriceAnn Hedican-Kocur- I'm going to try and update as often as I can. Alas, I'm a college student (and a Biology major) so time is short some days.  
  
Lindiel Eryn-I like the idea of crossovers too! The two settings have so much in common. You'll have to see what I do with my characters in Middle Earth. They'll get home soon.  
  
Meinien- Thanks for the vote of encouragement!  
  
Disclaimer- I still own nothing! The only things in this chapter I own are the extended Dolan family, Madison, and the location known as Hound's Hollow. I'm just you're run of the mill, broke college student. I own nothing but my Pointe Shoes.   
  
If you looked directly at Number Four, Privet Drive, one would see nothing but a normal house. The lawn was neatly manicured. A sparking car parked in the driveway. The house looked, for the entire world to see, to be a normal, and run of the mill home, occupied by a normal run of the mill family. If one were to open the front door, they would see that it was not the case.  
  
Sitting in the front hallway were too figures. Both were looking toward the door, wishing, hoping, waiting for someone to open it and release them from this ordinary house.  
  
"You're sure someone is going to come for us eventually," said the boy, the famous Harry Potter.  
  
"My uncle said that they would be here exactly two hours after he left me here," the girl replied.  
  
She had long straight black hair and bright green eyes. Her name was Cora Dolan and she was Harry's cousin, first cousin to be exact. This was the first time the two wizards were meeting face to face but they had exchanged many letters, much to the chagrin of Harry's Muggle aunt and uncle.  
  
Harry had found out about Cora through his Godfather, Sirius Black. Sirius had told Harry, in a letter that his aunt Petunia had another sister that she never talked about. This sister's name was Daisy. Daisy, like his own mother, was a Hogwarts trained witch and she married into a very old, Irish wizarding family. Getting high marks in Defense Against the Dark Arts while at school, she and her husband both became aurors and were killed just before Harry's parents were. Cora, who was born exactly a week before he was, was taken to be raised by her father's family.  
  
"Who do you think is going to come for us?" Harry asked, placing Hedwig's cage on top of his trunk.  
  
Cora's uncle, Patrick, had helped him bring it downstairs before he left.  
  
"I don't know. My Grams went out and took my aunt Kathleen and my cousin Conner with her. All my other aunts and uncles are busy so I'm not 100% sure," Cora replied.  
  
"What about your other cousin, the one you said lived with you?' Harry inquired.  
  
"Glendon? Nope, my Grams made him stay home and watch the house. He's supposed to have cleaned up before we get there but, knowing Glendon, he's probably reading or something," Cora replied.  
  
"By the way, you never did tell me where we are going," Harry said.  
  
Cora had, accidentally, left out their destination in every one of her letters. She never said where she was writing from, either.  
  
Cora laughed and explained, "I couldn't tell you in my letters because people would find out where I'm taking you but I can tell you now. We're going to Hound's Hollow. It's a small wizarding village in rural Ireland and where I was raised. We're going to my Grams house, an old wizard's mansion called Hound's Tooth."  
  
"Oh, you come from money," Harry commented, offhandedly.  
  
"No, nothing like that. I mean, we're not poor but we're not rich either. It's just old and mansion like because one of my great grand relatives built the house lots of years ago and we've just kept adding on to it," Cora said, "I come from a very big family."  
  
"Just one more question, how come I couldn't tell my friends, Hermione and Ron?" Harry inquired.  
  
"It's for there own good. You don't want someone you're friends with to try and find where we're headed. Hound's Hollow is unplottable and protected in a very special way. My uncle left these half open portals to Middle Earth in the woods surrounding the town. They change every half-hour or so and there are a lot of them. It's not like the leave you in nice places either, if you were to step through them," Cora told Harry.  
  
"Middle Earth? Isn't that just fiction?" Harry wondered, aloud.  
  
"No more fictional than the wizards and stuff that live there," Cora began, but she was interrupted by a knock at the front door.  
  
The two wizards scrambled for the front door, both hoping that it would be the person or group of people that would take them away from there. Harry got there first, opening the door to reveal two people dressed in Muggle attire and a big black dog. Harry was taken completely off guard. Standing in his doorway was Remus Lupin, his third year Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, and his Godfather in dog form, Sirius Black. He didn't recognize the woman but Cora appeared to have. She waved and gave Lupin a hug.  
  
"You know Professor Lupin?" Harry asked, incredulously.  
  
"He's my godfather," Cora said, "I just found out about that and that's his wife, Madison. I'm sure you know who the dog is."  
  
Harry nodded, not wanting to divulge the identity of the dog out loud.  
  
"Come on," Madison said, we had better get going. The portal is going to close soon."  
  
The couple picked up Harry's trunk while the dog led the two children down the street and to a large oak tree.  
  
"Go through," called Lupin. Harry looked at Cora and then at the dog. Cora took his hand and pulled him through.  
  
He came out in the middle of a large front yard. Turning around he saw that he was facing a large, old looking house. The house had to have been three stories high but extremely wide. There were many towers and turrets attached to the house.  
  
"Welcome to Hound's Tooth!" Cora announced. Moments later, the dog and the two wizards exited the portal.  
  
"Come on," Cora urged, leading the staring Harry toward the huge house.  
  
"Glendon! We're home!" Cora called, as soon as they entered the house.  
  
"I heard you," a sandy haired, blue eyed, freckled/pink cheeked boy said.  
  
He, then, turned, shook his hand, and said to Harry, "Glendon Andrew McIntyre. Pleased to meet you."  
  
Harry looked at Cora, confused.  
  
"Glendon's just being funny," Cora explained.  
  
Glendon smiled and said to Madison, Remus, and, the newly transformed, Sirius Black, "Gram said that Harry's stuff should go in the third bedroom from the left on the second floor."  
  
"Come on, I'll show you around," Cora told Harry. 


	5. The Parent Trap

(AN: Again, if you're confused check my profile by clicking on my pen name. Then click on the homepage link. That should take you to my character page. Maybe that'll help a bit.)  
  
Disclaimer: I own.nothing! My characters are the extended Dolan family, Nightwing the bird, and the location of Hound's Hollow (also everything found therein). I'm in college and I'm broke.  
  
Later that night, another portal opened in the front yard. This portal was one that was created as an exit from Middle Earth instead of from the Muggle World. Patrick, silently, led the four wizards up the front walk and to the house. Entering the house quietly, the wizards were stopped by Sirius Black. He didn't say anything, at first; he just stared in blatant shock.  
  
Then he said, "I can't believe it's really you."  
  
He tried to pull the four wizards into a tearful hug.  
  
"Sirius, man, calm down. You'll wake the kids up," said Remus, who had been sitting by the fire.  
  
His wife had gone back to their home, the Wolf's Lair.  
  
"But Remus," Sirius began and then he saw Remus get up and join their tearful hug.  
  
"Should we wake the kids and tell them," suggested James.  
  
"Why not," added Sirius.  
  
"No, not like this," Patrick said, "It will scare them."  
  
"How should we do it, then?" asked Lily.  
  
"Sirius, take Lily and James up to Harry's room. Remus, take Daisy and Chris to Cora's room. Do it that way," Patrick suggested.  
  
He figured, this way, the two wizards would not be overwhelmed and get nervous. He wanted them to be comfortable with the idea that their parents, long absent from their lives, had returned from the dead.  
  
The group of witches and wizards walked up the stairs to the second floor. There they parted ways. Harry's room and Cora's room were on two separate wings. Remus headed right, taking Chris and Daisy to Cora's room  
  
"Be careful, guys, and watch your head when you go in," he told them.  
  
Each did as they were told, making sure not to his their heads on the bird cage that hung next to the door. In the cage slept a small brown and black falcon, Cora's mail bird Nightwing. Though the room was dark, Daisy and Chris could make out the outlines of a huge bookcase full of books, a large dresser and desk, and several posters on the wall. The window was open and the curtains were blowing in the light breeze.  
  
"I'll wake her up but then I'm going," Remus told the child's parents, "This is something you two have to settle yourselves."  
  
They accepted the offer and backed into the shadows.  
  
Remus went over to the bed and gently shook the sleeping child. She groaned and turned over in her sleep. He shook her again and, this time, she opened one of her eyes.  
  
Sleepily, she asked, "What's wrong?"  
  
Remus gave a small laugh and said, "Nothing's wrong, Cora. Everything's fine. I just have some people who'd like to meet you."  
  
Cora yawned and sat up in bed, wondering just exactly what was going on. Remus motioned for her parents to step into the light.  
  
Cora look bewildered and Remus said, "Daisy, Chris, I'd like you to meet Cora. Cora, these are your parents."  
  
Except for the sound of Remus leaving the room and closing the door behind him and the rustle Nightwing made as he changed positions in his cage, there was no sound in the room. Cora still looked bewildered and her parents looked hopeful.  
  
"At least she's not screaming like we're monsters," Chris whispered to his wife, trying to lighten the heavy mood.  
  
Daisy just glared, humorlessly, at her husband. His jokes just weren't funny at a time like this. Cora, meanwhile, had managed to get some semblance of her common sense together. Her sleep addled brain was still a bit fuzzy but that haze was slowly but surely clearing out.  
  
"Are you two really here or am I dreaming?" Cora said, half to herself.  
  
It was only in her wildest dreams that her parents came back to life. When she was younger, she use to tell Grams about these dreams. The old woman, upset by the loss of her youngest son, would shoot down her dreams telling her to keep her head in the here and now.  
  
"You're not dreaming, it's really us," Daisy answered.  
  
"But how, you're dead?" Cora questioned, her mind going back to her younger days.  
  
"My brother, your Uncle Patrick, brought us back--Him and his elves," Chris replied.  
  
Cora seemed to accept that answer. She had first hand knowledge about her uncle's elves. They were powerful beings, beings not to be trifled with. With that in mind, Cora began to cry.  
  
"What's wrong?" Daisy, quickly, asked, afraid she had, in some way, offended her daughter.  
  
"Nothing, I think. I'm happy. You're not going to have to leave again, are you?" she said, muffled slightly because of her tears.  
  
"Never, we're here for the long run," Chris said, sitting on the bed and hugging his daughter.  
  
Daisy sat on Cora's other side and entered the embrace as well. Cora just tried to hug both of them and cried.  
  
"Ok, guys, this is it. Are you ready," Sirius asked, when he reached Harry's door, which was down the left had hallway.  
  
"I'm not really sure, I'm ready. I'm scared," Lily said to her long time friend.  
  
"Don't worry, Harry's a great kid. You'll love him and, I know, he'll love you," Sirius said, using his old charm in an attempt to comfort Lily.  
  
"I'm sorry but the longer we stand here, the worse it's going to be. Let's go," James said, taking charge like he use to when he was a student in Hogwarts.  
  
Sirius pushed the door open and woke Harry up.  
  
"What's going on?" Harry asked, confused, groping about for his glasses.  
  
He wasn't sure where he was or what was going on. Then the realization of where he was, currently, staying hit him. He put his black glasses on and faced his Godfather.  
  
"Cora's uncle just came home. He brought you a couple of surprises," Sirius said, with a smile.  
  
Harry nearly fainted when he saw his parents appear next to Sirius. Seeing his parents alive and well was something that could only happen in a dream or as an image in the Mirror of Erised. It was just a fantasy not something that could ever occur. Yet his parents were standing next to his Godfather, looking as nervous as could be.  
  
"I'll just leave you three to get to know each other," Sirius said, leaving the room.  
  
The three wizards looked at each other for a few tense moments. Each of them didn't know how to articulate how they were feeling or what questions they wanted to ask.  
  
"How?" was all Harry could stammer, once he found his voice.  
  
"Cora's uncle brought us back. He knows these things--elves he called them-- that helped him," Lily answered.  
  
"But Dumbledore said that it was impossible to bring the dead back," Harry said, remembering something his headmaster told him at the end of his fourth year.  
  
"That's true but I guess he's never met Patrick's friends," James answered.  
  
"Friends?" Harry asked, his mind wandering to the recently reincarnated Lord Voldemort and his circle of "friends."  
  
"They're the good kind of friends. You'll have to ask him later," Lily said.  
  
Looking sheepish, Lily pulled Harry into a hug. She wasn't sure this was the proper thing to do with a nearly fifteen year old boy but, when he returned the hug, she knew it was ok. James, reluctant at first, joined the embrace as well. 


	6. The Americans

(AN: Many thanks to my reviewer! I greatly appreciate it! There's going to be things happening in both the Wizarding World and in Middle Earth. Don't forget about the portal traveling elf.she's important!)  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing! My characters are the extended Dolan family, the Americans found in this chapter, and everything about Hound's Hollow. I'm just a broke college student who writes for fun and to pass time between classes. I only own my Pointe Shoes.  
  
The next day, the two wizards woke up late. They had spent most of the night with each of their respective parents. They had a lot of catching up to do. Harry and Cora met on their way down to breakfast.  
  
"Did yours?," Harry began, posing the question that had been playing on his mind.  
  
"Yup, I'm still in shock," Cora said.  
  
"What happened?" Glendon asked, joining the group on the stairs.  
  
"Uncle Patrick brought our parents back from the dead," Cora told her cousin.  
  
"He said he was going to ask the elves to try," Glendon, wisely, said.  
  
"You knew?" Cora asked.  
  
"Yup, for a couple of weeks now," he replied.  
  
Cora jokingly punched her freckled faced cousin on his arm.  
  
"And you didn't tell me. You're a dirt bag," she said to him.  
  
Harry laughed and thought, "I wonder what's going to happen today."  
  
Harry did not have to wait long to find out. When they had reached the dining room, Harry and Cora were informed that guests were coming over tonight.  
  
"Cora, you are to spend the day showing Harry around town," said a severe looking woman.  
  
"But Grams, I wanted to spend the day with my mom and dad and Glendon and meet Harry's parents," Cora protested.  
  
"You may not," the old woman said.  
  
"But why," Cora asked, sounding slightly whiny.  
  
She knew Harry must be feeling the same way.  
  
"Because I said so. Now get going," the old woman said, lifting the dishes off the breakfast table.  
  
Cora looked to Glendon, hoping to get some support from her long time best friend. Glendon just shrugged apologetically.  
  
"So, where are we going?" asked Harry.  
  
Cora thought for a moment and replied, "I'll take you to Ministry House. There are some really cool people there."  
  
Harry nodded and followed Cora around to the front of the house. The two cousins went down the walk and went out the front gate. They walked halfway down the block, stopping in front of another large, old looking house.  
  
"This is Ministry House," Cora told Harry.  
  
"Why's it called Ministry House?" Harry asked.  
  
"Well, it's a little weird but the people who live in this house are here because of their affiliation with the American Ministry of Magic. Each of the people who live here have lost someone due to You-Know-Who. Then again, everyone here has lost someone to You-Know-Who," Cora said, adding the last part off handedly.  
  
"Really?" said Harry amazed.  
  
"Yes really. That's why You-Know-Who has never tried to attack this town. Well that and the fact he can't find us," Cora replied.  
  
Harry was taken aback by this statement. He knew that, somehow, the Dursley's home was protected by magic but an entire town amazed him. He suddenly felt safe in this little town.  
  
"Hey, Cora's here!" called the figure that had just come out of the house.  
  
Cora waved as three more figures poured out into the front yard.  
  
Harry had once heard his Uncle Vernon use the phrase "standard issue American" when referring to an American born drill maker. He didn't understand what that phrase had meant, then, but, now he did. The four wizards, two older girls, a younger girl, and an older looking boy, definitely looked American. One of the older girls had long, straight brown/black hair, bluish wire rimmed glasses over dark brown eyes, and was wearing khaki colored shorts and a blue, hooded t-shirt. The other girl had jaw length brown hair, hazel eyes, and had jean shorts and a purple tank top on. The younger looking girl had black hair and eyes and was wearing a jean dress and sandals. The older looking boy had black, spiky hair, brown eyes, and had long shorts and a white tank top on.  
  
"Come on," Cora urged, as she opened the front gate.  
  
Harry followed Cora into the vast front yard.  
  
"Wanna play," asked the short haired girl.  
  
She and the boy were sitting astride broomsticks with beater clubs in their hands.  
  
"Not today, Meg, maybe later," Cora replied.  
  
The girl nodded and took off for the sky with the boy in tow.  
  
"That's Meghan O'Shea. Her sister is over there. Her name is Ashley," Cora explained pointing to the long haired girl.  
  
Ashley was sitting underneath a huge tree, playing a game of wizard's chess with the little girl.  
  
"Who are the other two?" Harry asked, curiously.  
  
He had never, really, seen American wizards before.  
  
"Oh, that's Danny Callaghan. He's got a huge crush on Ashley but she's really shy and I don't think she likes him that way anyway. The little girl is Christine Troy, she just turned 11," Cora replied.  
  
Just as Cora said that, a large owl landed in the yard and dropped a letter in Christine's lap.  
  
"What did you get?" asked Daniel, coming down from the air.  
  
The little girl turned the letter over to take a look at the sender and squealed, happily.  
  
"Auntie Alice....Auntie Alice! It came....my letter came!" she called running toward the house.  
  
"What came?" Cora asked.  
  
"Her Hogwarts letter. It's all she's talked about since her birthday," Daniel replied.  
  
"They're going to let her go?" Meghan questioned.  
  
Harry looked confused and Cora explained, "These guys go to an American Ministry run school."  
  
Harry nodded his understanding.  
  
Ashley shrugged and told her sister," I'm not sure yet."  
  
"She'll be going to Hogwarts, just like the rest of you will be next year," said one of the three women that came out of the house.  
  
"We will?" Ashley questioned, her sock undercutting her shyness.  
  
"Of course you will. I don't think your school is safe anymore," said one of the women.  
  
The four Americans looked at each other and began to cheer.  
  
"Oh, hello Cora," said one of the women.  
  
"Hi, Mrs. O'Shea," Cora said to the woman.  
  
She had grayish hair with streaks of light brown in it and hazel eyes. She was smiling warmly at all the young wizards assembled in her front yard.  
  
"Who's your friend?" asked another one of the women.  
  
This woman had curly black hair that was white in places and dark eyes. She was laughing at the wizards, dancing around in the yard.  
  
"Is he new here?" asked the final woman.  
  
This woman looked younger than the other two. She had straight dark hair and bore a striking resemblance to Christine.  
  
"This is Harry Potter, my cousin," Cora said, once the cheering died down.  
  
While all the other wizards stood speechless, little Christine exclaimed, "Way cool!"  
  
After all the customary introductions, Mrs. O'Shea said, "I hate to leave all of you out here but I think I hear my owl calling."  
  
The other two witches, Daniel's mother and Christine's Aunt, went with her. Ashley cleared up her wizard's chess set and invited everyone to sit under the tree, in the shade.  
  
"What years are you guys going into?" asked Harry.  
  
"Years?" Daniel asked, confused.  
  
"Well, first years are 11, second years are 12, and so on," Harry said.  
  
The four Americans thought for a minute, trying to figure out each of there years.  
  
"I'm a first year," Christine said, proudly.  
  
"Judging by that, then Danny and I would be sixth years and Meghan would be a fourth year," Ashley replied, talking down to the ground.  
  
"If I were going to Hogwarts," Cora started, "I'd be a fifth year."  
  
"You're not going," Daniel said, sadly.  
  
"That's not what I heard," Meghan began.  
  
"What did you hear?" Cora asked, curiously.  
  
"I heard that your uncle finally convinced your Grams to let you and Glendon go to Hogwarts," Meghan replied.  
  
"Where did you hear that, Meghan?" Cora asked the American.  
  
"I'll never tell," Meghan replied, looking up at the sky.  
  
(AN: The character of Meghan is dedicated to my little sister of the same name. A pain in my rear end she may be but she's still my sister. The character of Daniel is dedicated to my best friend in the entire world, Danny. We've been friends since we were in preschool. Please, read and review using that wondrous little button down there.) 


	7. Interlude

(AN: Thanks, again, to my reviewer! I think that they're going to stay in the wizarding world but Middle Earth may come to them in some way, shape, or form. The portal travelers, Patrick and Niphredil, will come into play.)  
  
While the wizards sat and talked about wizarding schools and Quiddich, another set of wizards entered Hound's Tooth. A gathering, of sorts, had begun as soon as Harry and Cora had left. Hound's Hollow, with its special protection measures, was being used as a preliminary gathering area for Albus Dumbledore's Order of the Phoenix.  
  
"I hope you got here all right, Molly," said Cora's grandmother.  
  
Molly looked over the large group behind here and said, "We're all here, Anne, so it was a good trip. It's very strange to travel by portal."  
  
Patrick shrugged apologetically; portal traveling took a little getting use to. It wasn't as disconcerting as traveling by Floo Powder and it didn't get you as dirty but it was a strange sensation to walk through a solid object, like a tree or a boulder and come out the other side as fine as could be.  
  
"Are you sure we're not putting you out?" asked Molly's husband, Arthur.  
  
"Nonsense, Arthur, this house has room for a whole lot of wizards. My great grand parents built it to hold several large generations of our family at once," Anne replied.  
  
"Can we have our own rooms?" asked the youngest of the children, a little girl.  
  
"Of course you can, if you want to," Anne replied.  
  
"We should really bring our stuff up, instead of standing here in the hall," Arthur suggested.  
  
"Glendon, Conner, help these fine witches and wizards find rooms. You know which ones are occupied and which aren't" their grandmother, Anne, ordered.  
  
"But Grams," whined Glendon, "I'm reading."  
  
"And I don't want that twerp to do anything with me," Conner added.  
  
Conner, Patrick's son, was a morose young man who didn't get along with anyone, save his mother. He was particularly awful to Cora and Glendon, for some unknown reason.  
  
Meanwhile, a young witch entered the house. She had traveled to Hound's Tooth via timed portals. Portals Patrick had "set," so to speak, to open and close at certain times. She came in alone save for Remus and Sirius with her trunk. She looked around the house, amazed.  
  
"Are you Anne?" she asked.  
  
Anne nodded and said to Remus, "Find her a room. I'll send for the others."  
  
The girl looked at Remus, fear in her eyes.  
  
"Don't worry," he told her, "she's just trying to intimidate you. She's not going to hurt you." Trusting her one-time professor, she followed him up the stairs. 


	8. Enter Dumbledore

(AN: Again, thanks to my reviewer! The girl will come up later. Patrick's portal traveling ability comes in handy for doing a great many things.)  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing! My characters are the extended Dolan family, the Americans found in this chapter, and everything about Hound's Hollow. I'm just a broke college student who writes for fun and to pass time between classes. I only own my Pointe Shoes.  
  
Patrick walked back into the house looking rather tired. Opening portals wasn't easy work, even after all the years he had been doing it. The timed portal used to bring the girl to Hound's Hollow was particularly tricky since it involved the Muggle World.  
  
"Mom, have you see Chris and the rest of them?" Patrick asked, once all the wizards had gone up stairs.  
  
He didn't really feel like putting on a happy face and talking to all the wizards he had just helped bring to his house.  
  
"They're in one of the back rooms. Albus Dumbledore is with them," Anne replied, fixing a lampshade that had become crooked during all the commotion.  
  
"Dumbledore is here! When did he get here?" Patrick asked.  
  
He didn't remember Dumbledore arriving at Hound's tooth.  
  
"He arrived just after you went to go pick up Molly and her family," Anne started, "by the way, he wants to speak with you."  
  
"When?" Patrick managed to ask.  
  
"Right after you got in," his mother replied in an off handed sort of way, dusting off an end table.  
  
Patrick shot his mother a dirty look for not telling him sooner but kept his annoyance in check. The last thing he needed was his mother acting moody around him. She could be a miserable old goat sometimes. Mulling things over, he decided that heading for the back rooms would be his best course of action.  
  
In the rear of Hound's Tooth, there were seven large rooms. Once, when the entire extended Dolan clan lived under one roof, they were used for food storage. With only a handful of Dolans living in the large house, they had been converted into offices. Patrick had one of the larger offices since he stored many of his spare wand making parts in it.  
  
He walked down to his office and found the door slightly ajar. Hearing voice coming out of his office, he entered the room.  
  
"I'm sorry if I kept your waiting but I had to pick up a group of wizards," he said, breathlessly.  
  
His words were lost on the group as they all sat there laughing at a story he just missed.  
  
"Oh look, Patrick's here!" Chris happily said, noticing his elder brother standing in the doorway.  
  
"He certainty is," Dumbledore said, gravely.  
  
Then he added, "Could you four excuse us for a while?"  
  
The four wizards left without a word. Most of them, specifically James and Chris, knew what that tone of voice meant.  
  
"You're in trouble," joked Chris as he exited the room.  
  
Patrick swatted at his youngest brother and shut the door behind him. He, then, sat down at his desk. Dumbledore took the seat across from him, forcing Patrick to make direct eye contact with him.  
  
"Did you know, Patrick, that necromancy is a crime punishable by a life sentence in Azkaban?" the bearded wizard asked.  
  
"I did, Professor Dumbledore. Why do you ask?" Patrick replied, having an inking about where this conversation might be going.  
  
"How did you do it? Dark Magic?" Dumbledore asked a twinkle in his eyes.  
  
"Heavens no, Albus. Nothing likes that," Patrick, hurriedly, answered.  
  
"Then how? Please don't think I'm accusing you but this is curious, indeed. No wizard has even displayed the ability to bring back the dead. As a matter of fact, it was widely though that the dead could not be brought back. They could exist as ghosts but never return to a full life. Once word gets out, that the Potters and the Dolans have been brought back, everyone is going to want someone to be brought back," Dumbledore explained.  
  
"That's the thing, I didn't do anything. You're not going to believe me but it was my friends, the elves, that helped me and they can't bring just anyone back. There are rules and specifics but I don't know them," Patrick said.  
  
"Who does?" Albus asked.  
  
"I can send for someone, several people actually, who does but they won't be here for a few days," Patrick answered.  
  
Dumbledore nodded, accepting the wizards answer.  
  
The Hogwarts headmaster turned to leave but Patrick, suddenly, asked, "Albus have you given any thought about what to do with the transfer students? I know a lot of the kids here are planning on being able to go to Hogwarts next year."  
  
"Yes, I heard. Minerva and I have decided to take them all in, of course, but sorting them is becoming quite a problem. If we include them in the main, first year sorting, it will take too long but then how?" Dumbledore wondered.  
  
"If I may, Professor, how about we have the sorting here. I know, for a fact, that most of the transfer students are either from here or a few towns around here," Patrick suggested.  
  
"It is very kind of you to offer, Patrick, and I will take it into consideration," Dumbledore told the nervous wizard.  
  
Then he added, "I do hope two of my new students are your niece and nephew."  
  
Patrick smiled and said, "I think I've got my mom convinced, Albus, I really do." 


	9. A Meeting of Friends

Disclaimer: I own nothing! My characters are the extended Dolan family, the Americans found in this chapter, and everything about Hound's Hollow. I'm just a broke college student who writes for fun and to pass time between classes. I only own my Pointe Shoes.  
  
"Glendon," Anne called, moving swiftly to the kitchen door.  
  
"Yes, Grams," Glendon said, coming from the living room to the kitchen.  
  
He had been reading in the living room and avoiding his older cousin, Conner. Conner didn't like Cora or Glendon and he made those feelings known.  
  
"Go get Cora and Harry. They're across the way. While you're there, ask Mrs. O'Shea if she and her friends want to come over tonight," the old woman requested.  
  
"Alright, I'll be right back," Glendon said, taking of for the front door.  
  
  
He ran all the way to the Ministry House's front yard. He didn't want Conner to bother him with questions about where he was going. He found the two wizards sitting underneath a huge tree.  
  
"Glendon's here!" called Meghan, as soon as he entered the yard.  
  
"What's up, Glendon?' Cora asked.  
  
Glendon caught his breath and said," Grams want you and Harry home right away. It's time to eat, I think."  
  
"It's been nice meeting all of you," Harry said, getting up.  
  
The other wizards said their good byes.  
  
"Wait, I had one more message," Glendon said, putting up a hand to hold off Harry and Cora.  
  
"Ashley," he said to the quiet wizard with the glasses, "Can you ask your mom if she and her friends want to come over to eat?"  
  
Ashley nodded and went to walk up to the house.  
  
Before she got there, though, Meghan yelled, "Mom, could you come out here?"  
  
Danny laughed while Ashley just shook her head.  
  
Mrs. O'Shea, thinking something was wrong, came dashing out of the house.  
  
"What's wrong?" she, breathlessly, asked.  
  
"Glendon wanted to ask you something," Meghan, calmly, said.  
  
"Grams wants to know if all of you want to come over tonight," he told the woman.  
  
The woman thought for a moment and answered, "Of course, we'd love to. We'll be right there."  
  
"Mom, can we go with Harry and Cora?" Ashley, quietly, requested.  
  
"Get going. We'll meet you there," Mrs. O'Shea replied, giving the kids clearance to leave the yard.  
  
She, then, added, "Make sure the lot of you put your robes on so you look presentable."  
  
Each of the American wizards retrieved their robes from a limb of the tree they had been sitting under.  
  
The young wizards made their way back to Hound's Tooth, amid lots of joking and laughing. They four Americans, while they were walking, had donned their long black robes. It was then Harry noticed that each of them had something embroidered on their right arm, near the shoulder. Ashley and Meghan had a silver dove with a gold heart in its beak. Daniel had a ring of white stars with a large purple star in the center. Christine had a white peace sign, outlined in silver.  
  
"What do those things on their arms mean?" Harry asked Cora, in a whisper.  
  
"I can't tell you. It's not my place. I can tell you that it has to do with the reason why they are here, though," Cora explained.  
  
Harry nodded and made a mental note to ask the four Americans later.  
  
They entered the large house to find it strangely empty. Usually noisy, the house seemed to be totally devoid of sound and motion.  
  
"I wonder where everyone is," Cora said, aloud but to no one in particular.  
  
"Everyone's in the back dining hall, idiot," said a sullen looking young man, sitting in one of the hallway chairs.  
  
"Who's that?" Harry asked.  
  
"Never mind him. That's Conner, my Uncle Patrick's son," Cora answered.  
  
Harry nodded and asked, "Is he going to be going to Hogwarts?"  
  
"Nope," answered Glendon, "He's nearly 20."  
  
"Oh, ok. It's just that he looks like he would make an excellent Syltherin," Harry said, making the group laugh.  
  
The group followed Cora and Glendon into the back dining hall. Even the Americans, who had been over the house many times, had not been in this specific room. Once the made it to the back room, Harry found himself face to face with Ron Weasley family and Hermione Granger, the girl who had arrived with Remus and Sirius carrying her trunk.  
  
"What are you guys doing here?" he asked.  
  
"We got here earlier today. When did you get here?" Ron replied.  
  
"I got here yesterday," Harry said.  
  
"Is this what you couldn't tell us?" asked Hermione.  
  
"Yeah. Well, that and this. Ron, Hermione this is my cousin Cora," Harry said, introducing his cousin to his friends.  
  
"You have a cousin, why didn't you tell us," Ron said.  
  
"I didn't tell you guys because I didn't know her." Harry replied.  
  
"But how?" Hermione asked.  
  
Harry explained the entire situation to his friends, ending with the fact that parents had been brought back.  
  
"You're kidding, right? Do you know that necromancy is illegal?" Hermione said.  
  
"Are you sure that You-Know-Who isn't involved?" Ron asked, nervously.  
  
"No, I don't think so. Cora's uncle Patrick brought them back using these elves he knows," Harry answered.  
  
"Elves?" Hermione answered.  
  
Harry was about to defer to Cora when Anne announced that dinner was ready.  
  
There were several long tables set up towards to back of the large room. Harry could, already, see his parents seated with Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. Next to Remus sat his wife Madison and another girl Harry recognized as Gillian Clarke, a fellow Gryffindor in his year. Across from them sat Cora's parents and her uncle Patrick. He also spotted the entire Weasley family sitting at the same table. He didn't see the three American women he had just met but he assumed that they were on their way.  
  
"Harry, over here!" called Sirius. He ran over to his godfather and his parents, hugging each one in turn.  
  
Cora followed closely behind.  
  
"Mom! Dad! Uncle Patrick!" she said, hugging each one.  
  
The others came over to the group, looking nervous and scared. They didn't know what to make of the newly alive Potters and Dolans. It was Meghan who responded first.  
  
"Hello! Pleased to meet you. My name's Meghan O'Shea and that's my sister Ashley. We live in the big house across the way with those two. That's Daniel Callaghan and Christine Troy. We're American," she said, pointing everyone out and shaking hands.  
  
The group laughed, loudly, and James asked Ashley, "Is she always that loud?"  
  
Ashley blushed a bright red and nodded. Her eyes never left her feet.  
  
"All of you, please, sit," Daisy said, elbowing Patrick over.  
  
Harry sat next to his parents and Cora did likewise with hers. Ron called his parents over to sit with the group and Hermione sat with them. The four Americans sat on the other side of Gillian, leaving room for each of their parents when they got there. Glendon contented himself with sitting with Cora's parents.  
  
"Mom, dad, these are my best friends from Hogwarts. That's Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger," Harry told his parents.  
  
"I'm Ron's mother, Molly, and that's my husband Arthur. It's a pleasure to meet you. This unruly bunch are my children. That's Percy, the twins, Fred and George, and that's Ginny. My other two, Bill and Charlie, are off working," Molly told Harry and Cora's parents.  
  
As dinner was being served, Mrs. O'Shea, Mrs. Callaghan, and Alice entered the room.  
  
"I'm very sorry were late, Anne, but we got lost and Conner wouldn't show us where to go," Mrs. O'Shea said.  
  
"It's quite alright, Claire. I'll tell Kathleen to have a talk with her son," Anne replied.  
  
The three, breathless, women sat down next to the respective children and introduced themselves to everyone at the table.  
  
"Cora, are there house elves here?" Hermione asked, causing Ron to groan loudly.  
  
"Never. My Grams wanted a couple of house elves a few years back but my Uncle Patrick wouldn't let her get them," Cora said.  
  
"Why? House elves are dead useful," Ron said.  
  
"I know. It's just that my uncle has really strong feelings about using elves to do work. He said that the elves her knows are free people and they elves here should be free, too," Cora explained.  
  
Conner laughed, coldly, and said, "You believe that crock. You're dumber that I ever thought possible."  
  
"Who's that?" Chris asked his daughter.  
  
"Uncle Patrick's son Conner," she answered.  
  
"Wow, I remember him as a little pudgy boy who loved to hear stories about my brother's elves," Chris commented.  
  
"He's not like that anymore," commented Patrick, "he's just like his mother, a miserable little git." 


	10. The Telling of Tales

An: Thanks for your reviews, Lindiel Eryn. Conner may or may not be a true bad guy, I haven't really decided yet. Right now he's just one of those horrid people who seem to exist everywhere in the world.  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing! My characters are the extended Dolan family, the Americans found in this chapter, and everything about Hound's Hollow. I'm just a broke college student who writes for fun and to pass time between classes. I only own my Pointe Shoes.  
  
After dinner, the adults separated themselves from their children, Harry and Cora's parents included. It appeared that they had something very important to discuss.  
  
The kids sat in one of the larger living rooms.  
  
"Ashley," Harry started, "I've been meaning to ask you about that thing you have on your robe. What is it?"  
  
Ashley looked at her sleeve and pointed to the embroidered symbol.  
  
"This? My dad was a hit wizard and he came here when I was little because this Ministry of Magic needed help. We were here a little less than a year, when he and his company were killed by You-Know-Who. This was the symbol of his company--the white doves. It had something to do with bringing peace to places that needed it," Ashley explained.  
  
"My story's just about the same. My dad's company came here at the same time as Ashley's. He was tortured and killed by death eaters while accompanying a group of Aurors out. His company used these stars as their symbol," Danny explained.  
  
All eyes fell on little Christine.  
  
She looked around the room and pointed to herself.  
  
"You're not going to believe me, even if I told you," she said.  
  
"Go on, tell us," urged Hermione.  
  
Christine looked nervous and said, "I'd just like to say that this story is according to my Auntie Alice. My mom, dad, and two older brothers were Death Eaters. They served You-Know-Who for lots of years. They even moved over here so they could be closer. Anyway, when my Auntie Alice got word of it, she moved over here and started looking for his sister. She got involved with the American Ministry and met their parents. Before she could find me, You-Know-Who came to our house and got into a fight with my parents. He thought they were spies or something and he killed them and my brothers. He didn't get me, though, because my Auntie Alice came to get me earlier that day. This, she told me, is the symbol for people who want no part of You-Know-Who."  
  
Harry, Hermione, and all the Weasleys looked at the little wizard.  
  
"Do you want work for You-Know-Who?" asked Hermione.  
  
"Never, I don't want any part of what happened to my parents," Christine said.  
  
"This is what her Auntie Alice says anyway," Ashley added in a nearly inaudible undertone.  
  
"We're not really sure of the truth," Meghan added, slightly louder.  
  
The talk then turned to the already known Hogwarts student sitting with the group.  
  
"What are you doing here, Gillian?" asked Hermione.  
  
Gillian was already a Hogwarts student, a Gryffindor to be exact. She shared a dorm room with Hermione. With her dirty blond hair and blue eyes, she looked exactly like her mother. Something about her mannerisms revealed that, who ever her father was, he was not like her mother.  
  
"I'm here with my parents," she replied with a smile.  
  
"Who are your parents?" Ron asked.  
  
While at school, Gillian didn't talk about her parents. As a matter of fact, she didn't talk at all. She went about her business, staying just under the detection of everyone else.  
  
"You guys met my mom, she's been making trips through the portals," she started.  
  
"Your mom's Madison," Harry stated.  
  
"Then that would mean," Hermione started, "you're father's Professor Lupin."  
  
Gillian nodded and commented, "I use my mom's maiden name, Clarke. She didn't want people to think that I was like my dad or something like that."  
  
The shock of that statement quieted the room for a split second.  
  
"What about werewolf bites?" Hermione asked.  
  
Gillian rolled up the sleeve of her robe to reveal a healing bite mark.  
  
"I got a wee bit too close to the cage and my dad bit me. He didn't mean to, really," she said.  
  
"Then you're a werewolf too," Ron surmised.  
  
"I've been bitten tons of times and never once have I transformed. I'm immune to the bites. My mom, who works for St. Mungo's mind you, had me tested lots of times," she explained.  
  
The room fell silent again, until another topic caught the group's interest. "Cora, what about those elves you mentioned?" asked Ron.  
  
"Please don't think my uncle is crazy," she said, "most people who hear about his elves think he is."  
  
Those who didn't know Patrick agreed not to think of him as crazy.  
  
"My uncle has this skill to open these portals or gateway type things," Cora started.  
  
"Every wizard has some skill they are better at than all others," loudly, commented Percy.  
  
He was upset that he was not allowed to go with the adults.  
  
"This isn't a skill he learned at Hogwarts and it's not a skill any of my aunts or uncles have. Anyway, he can open these portals to this place called Middle Earth," Cora continued.  
  
"But, I thought, Middle Earth was fiction, just something you read about in books," Hermione said.   
  
"Like I told Harry before, Middle Earth is no faker than we are wizards. Anyway, my uncle can go there and that's where he met the elves. He said that they're really rare to see now because a lot of them are leaving to go west but, when there were a lot of them, they lived in these little communities in the woods." Cora finished.  
  
"What do they look like?" asked Fred.  
  
"House elves are quite ugly," added, his twin, George.  
  
Cora thought for a moment and answered, "From what my uncle told me and from the little I remember, they're very, very tall and, usually, fair skinned. Most of them keep their hair long, even the guys. They all have ears that point up, not like the house elves whose ear point out. They talk like their singing but they sing a lot, too."  
  
"You've met them before?" Hermione asked.  
  
"They took care of me, once, when I was very little," Cora explained.  
  
"You think we can meet them sometime," Harry asked.  
  
Cora shrugged, unsure of the answer but having a feeling toward the positive. 


	11. The New Order

AN: Thanks to my reviewers!  
  
Lindiel: Thanks! I like to make sure everyone of my characters has a back story. I'm currently putting up a longer one for Patrick, mostly about how he found about portals and stuff like that.  
  
PixiePea000: That's not me, really. All my Harry Potter stories have a bit of Lord of the Rings and the same goes the other way around.  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing! My characters are the extended Dolan family, the Americans found in this chapter, and everything about Hound's Hollow. I'm just a broke college student who writes for fun and to pass time between classes. I only own my Pointe Shoes.  
  
With the younger witches and wizards in the next room talking about all manner of things, the adults held a closed door meeting in one of the larger living rooms.  
  
Assorted chairs and couches were used to accommodate all those present. Albus Dumbledore sat at the head of the group. He took stock of those sitting in the room.  
  
On one large couch, on the right side of the room, sat Patrick with Chris and Daisy. The three were talking in quick whispers. Patrick's mother, wife, and son had elected not to join the group. Instead, they had gone up to their respective rooms.  
  
Two couches had been pushed end to end to accommodate the rather large group that sat on the left side of the room. In order, there sat James and his wife Lily. On the other side of James sat Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. Madison, Remus's wife, sat next to Lily.  
  
The three American women sat in chairs around the room.  
  
Dumbledore stood up and cleared his throat. "Now that all of you are here. I have two, related, things I'd like to discuss. First, I'd like to thank Patrick for all the work he's been doing lately. Between letting us you his home to his portals, we owe Patrick a debt of gratitude. Patrick said that he will be picking up the rest of the Order of the Phoenix as well as the rest of the Hogwarts staff tomorrow," he started.  
  
"Why is the rest of the staff coming here?" asked Remus, curiously.  
  
"Minerva and I have agreed to have an advance sorting for all the transfer students. Thanks, again, to Patrick's kindness, we are going to have the sorting here. I'd like all of you to get the word out as soon as possible," Dumbledore announced.  
  
The three American women, since they knew the towns' people best, volunteered to send out the owls. Dumbledore smiled and thanked the women. He knew that their reasons for doing this were two-fold. One, they wanted to help and, two, they wanted to make sure You-Know-Who couldn't hurt any more people.  
  
After a few other minor messages, a full fledged meeting would be held upon the arrival of the rest of the members, the meeting broke up.  
  
The first to head home were the three Americans owing to the fact it was really beyond Christine's bedtime.  
  
Before they could run off, Patrick took his brother and sister-in-law aside. He had to tell them something very important about their daughter.  
  
"Look guys," he said, leading them to the couch and sitting them down, "I have to tell you something."  
  
"Is something wrong with you or mom or any of the siblings?" asked Chris.  
  
Patrick shook his head.  
  
"Is there something wrong with Cora?" Daisy asked, tentatively.  
  
"Not now, anyway, but when she was little there was," Patrick answered.  
  
"But, if it was in the past, then why are you telling us now?" Chris said.  
  
"I have to get it off my chest and you have to know about it. When Cora was very little, maybe three or four, she got very sick. Since it was a Muggle disease of the bones and blood, the doctors at St. Mungo's couldn't figure out how to cure it. They told us to take her to a Muggle hospital and hope their treatments worked. You guys know how suspicious my mom is of Muggles, so she never went for treatment. Instead, she sends her to live with me. She lived with Kath, Conner and I for a while and she seemed to be getting better. Then, one night, she spiked this extremely high fever and we couldn't get it down with any amount of magic. Kathleen wanted to let her die in peace but I had other ideas. I packed her off on my horse, Windchaser, and took her to Middle Earth," Patrick began.  
  
"You mean to tell us that your wife wanted to let our little girl die," Daisy said.  
  
Patrick and Chris laughed; there had always been a little hostility between Daisy and Kathleen.  
  
"She wanted her to die with dignity, let's say. Anyway, I took her to Middle Earth to the house of the grandfather of the girl who brought you guys back. He, and the people of his house, saved Cora," Patrick finished.  
  
"You owe that family a lot, don't you?" asked Chris.  
  
"We decided, a while back, that no one owed anyone anything but I'd like you to meet them eventually," Patrick answered.  
  
Then he looked at the couple who seemed anxious to leave and said, "Go on and do whatever you're planning to do."  
  
"Remus told you about Peter, right?" Sirius asked James and Lily.  
  
"Yeah, I can't believe we trusted that slimy little good for nothing git," James said angrily.  
  
"He also told us that you were in Azkaban for a crime you didn't commit and that you broke out," James added.  
  
"Well, yeah but let's not discuss that here," Sirius said, avoiding a topic he'd rather not discuss.  
  
"Are you safe here?" Lily asked Sirius.  
  
Despite all his joking around with her, she genuinely liked the shaggy wizard.  
  
"Yeah, I'm staying with Remus, Madison, and Gillian right now and everyone here's been really good about keeping me being here quiet," Sirius said.  
  
"That's good, buddy," James said, punching Sirius in the arm.  
  
"I guess. Look, get going and do something with your kid," Sirius said, "His family time type stuff is seriously lacking." 


	12. Rumors in the Halls

AN: Sorry for not updating sooner. School's been a bit crazy. Thanks to my two reviewers!  
  
PixiePea000: I'm glad you like this story. To answer your questions, eventually but not in this chapter and not in this story.  
  
Lindiel: As usual, thanks for your review. I'm going to try to work on the speed of the chapters.  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing! My characters are the extended Dolan family, the Americans witches and wizard, and everything about Hound's Hollow. I'm just a broke college student who writes for fun and to pass time between classes. I only own my Pointe Shoes.  
  
The next few days passed quickly for Harry and Cora. When they weren't spending time with their parents or their friends, they watched as the people in the house prepared for something really big. One of the large back rooms was blocked off, with only certain people being allowed to enter and exit.  
  
"You know, tomorrow is the last day of our Quiddich season and our team is up for the fourth slot---the wild card slot," Cora told Harry, one day.  
  
"There's a summer Quiddich league?" Harry asked his cousin.  
  
"Of course! Here it's a really big deal because of the Intertown Quiddich championship. Our local team, the Hounds, are heading for the finals," Cora explained, proudly.  
  
"That's nice, are you asking me to come to your game?" Harry asked.  
  
"Yes and no. I'd love you to come but not as a spectator. You see, we can't play unless we have a seeker," Cora explained.  
  
"What happened to your seeker?" Harry asked, suspiciously.  
  
He knew that Quiddich fouls often happened to seekers.  
  
"Nothing bad. I mean, she didn't get hurt or anything like that. She had to go back to Asia with her mom and grandparents. We're going to be eliminated if we don't get a seeker. Would you like to take the job?" Cora offered.  
  
Harry thought for a moment and said, "Of course."  
  
"Cool. Let's see, what do you need to know. You've met the entire team already so you won't be meeting them for the first time tomorrow. Meghan and Danny are the Beaters. I'm the Keeper and the Chasers are Glendon, Ashley, and Gillian," Cora, happily, explained.  
  
Harry logged all the names and positions in his head so he would remember them the next day.  
  
"By the way," Cora asked, "do you have a favorite number?"  
  
"A favorite number? Um.....seven, yeah, lucky seven," Harry replied.  
  
"Alright, I'll tell the coach," Cora said, running off down a hall.  
  
Harry passed by the barred off room and found Fred, and George crouched in front of the door, strange fleshy colored objects in hand.  
  
"What are you guys doing?" Harry asked.  
  
"Fred and George think they've figured out what's going on in that room with their Extendable Ears," Ron explained, from his seat on one of the many stair cases in the large house.  
  
"Their what?" Harry asked.  
  
"Extendable ears," Ron replied, "they invented them a bit back. They're really good for listening in on things."  
  
"What did they hear, then?" Harry asked, as curious as the twins.  
  
"We think that Dumbledore and Patrick and a bunch of others are setting up in there for a separate sorting for all the kids that are transferring from here," Fred said.  
  
"How did you figure out that this was the right room? There must be hundreds of locked doors in this house" asked Harry.  
  
Ron shrugged and told his friend, "I had nothing to do with this. This is the first I'm hearing about it."  
  
"We didn't figure that part out, per say," answered George.  
  
"Actually, it was that Meghan kid from across the way. She snuck in there the other day and told us what they were setting up," Fred added.  
  
That made sense to both Harry and Ron. Both remembered hearing, in passing, that the transfer students were going to be sorted someplace outside of Hogwarts. They just never imagined it was going to take place here.  
  
"So, then, why are you guys sitting outside the room? Why not ask Meghan to help you sneak in?" Ron asked.  
  
"We're sitting here because we heard voices in there a while ago," answered George.  
  
"But it doesn't sound like anyone from Hogwarts that we know of," Fred replied.  
  
"Really," Harry said, sitting down on the bottom step, next to Ron.  
  
After a while, the crowd outside the door grew to include most of the Wesley children (save for Percy, he had "important work to do"), Hermione, Cora, and her cousin Glendon, and the four Americans.  
  
"You guys come over every day?" Hermione asked the Americans.  
  
It did, indeed, seem like they were over every day. More often than not, Meghan was seen talking to anyone that would listen to her while her sister quietly spoke with either Danny, who seemed to always be with her, or one or two other people.  
  
"Well, it's a small town," started Ashley but she was cut off by her sister.  
  
That also seemed to be a common occurrence between the American sisters. Ashley would start to say something, usually in a very quiet voice, and Meghan would talk over her, gesturing wildly with her hands and arms.  
  
"They asked us to come over today and it's our business what we do here or whether we come over or not," said Meghan.  
  
Ashley just shook her head and slumped back against the step behind her. Danny whispered something to her, making her smile and laugh. The older of the two sisters seemed most at ease in the company of her best friend.  
  
"Did they say why you guys had to come over?" Ginny asked, looking up from the game of exploding snap she had been playing with Christine.  
  
"I actually don't think they ever told us. Anne just said to be over here for dinner," Danny answered.  
  
"Curious, very curious," Cora mumbled to herself.  
  
"What's curious?" Glendon asked his cousin.  
  
"It's curious that Grams didn't tell us we were going to have a big dinner or that she was inviting people over," Cora told her cousin, "whenever she plans stuff like that, she tells us either to help or get out of the house."  
  
"I guess it is," Glendon said, shrugging his shoulders.  
  
While the kids on the steps turned to group games, like Exploding Snap and Wizard's Chess, and talking in general, the inside of the large room had become very hectic. It seemed that Patrick's "guests," the ones Dumbledore wanted to meet, has suddenly arrived and with more people than Patrick had first anticipated. 


	13. A Few Guests

AN: Hi everyone! Thanks, as usual, to my two reviewers.  
  
Lindiel: The identity of the guests will be revealed soon. (Actually, in this chapter.)  
  
PixiePea000: Cliffhangers are the best! I like to write them. Again, the characters are based on people I know and I'm not one of them! By the way, GOLLUM!  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing! My characters are the extended Dolan family, the Americans witches and wizard, and everything about Hound's Hollow. I'm just a broke college student who writes for fun and to pass time between classes. I only own my Pointe Shoes.  
  
Telling the other wizards he would introduce them later, Patrick requested that only Dumbledore and McGonagall to stay. Since they were the headmaster and deputy headmistress at the school, the Irish wizard figured that they would want to meet the group first and make sure they were alright.  
  
"Um---Albus, Minerva these are some of my friends from Middle Earth. The two in the robes are, for lack of an easier explanation, wizards. The one in white is Gandalf and the one in brown is---um---wait I know his name--- um---Radagast. Now, the rest of these guys are either elves or half elves or humans, I'll spare you the details until later. That's Elrond over there with his two sons---yes they're twins---his daughter. That's her husband and her daughter. I know why they're here but I can't explain why these other elves are here. Anyway, that's Legolas and his sister and, truth be told, I'm not sure who the other woman is," Patrick said, pointing out each person in turn.  
  
After a tense moment of silence, Dumbledore got up and said, "It is a pleasure, and honor, to meet all of you."  
  
He, then, shook everyone's hands with Minerva following suit. Patrick sighed in relief and slumped against a wall.  
  
He was joined by a little girl with silvery-blond hair. She was wearing a long greenish dress and she looked very uncomfortable. She crouched on the wall next to Patrick and waved.  
  
"What's going on, Emma?" the wizard said to the child.  
  
Then he added, "Shouldn't you be out there with your brother?"  
  
Turning his head ever so slightly to the right, he noticed her older brother standing next to him. He had crept up so quietly that Patrick didn't notice he was there.  
  
"But, then again, elves are always very quiet," Patrick thought to himself.  
  
This elf was much taller than his sister and was dressed for woodland travel. He even carried weapons with him.  
  
"What brings you here, Prince?" Patrick asked, knowing that calling him that would bother him.  
  
The elf turned to the wizard and smiled. Though he liked to tease people, the elf felt he owed a great deal to Patrick. The wizard had saved his sister when she was just a baby.  
  
"I don't remember sending a hawk to Mirkwood. Why did the two of you come? Not that I'm not happy to see the two of you," Patrick asked.  
  
"There aren't two of us," Emma, happily, said, "there are three of us."  
  
"So there are. Who is the mystery woman, Legolas? Is she your girlfriend?" Patrick inquired.  
  
"Girlfriend? No, not at all," Legolas started but he was interrupted by his sister.  
  
"There is this girl at home he likes but his dad wants him to like someone else," Emma said.  
  
Legolas shook his head and continued, "She is far from being my girlfriend, as a matter of fact. Her name is Alagernil."  
  
"Alagernil? Wasn't that your mother's name?" Patrick wondered, aloud.  
  
Legolas nodded, somberly.  
  
"But how? I thought Niphredil was forbidden from going to retrieve spirits of elves," Patrick said.  
  
"She is but she said that the spirit came to her and asked to be taken out. There was nothing she could do but take her out," Emma said, giving the explanation she was given.  
  
Legolas told Emma something in elvish, causing the little elf to run off and go stand with Elrond's sons.  
  
"What's the real story?" Patrick asked the elf, curious to find out the truth.  
  
"No, that is the truth. I told her that story," Legolas replied.  
  
"How are they getting along?" Patrick asked, referring to the prince's mother and Emma.  
  
Patrick knew that Legolas and his father didn't really see eye to eye and he had heard that the prince's father hated Emma with a passion. He knew that Emma was often sent with her brother just so her father didn't have to look at her.  
  
"Surprisingly well. She doesn't look down on her or anything like that. As a matter of fact, she decided to accept her as her daughter," the elf told the wizard.  
  
"That's good for both you and Emma. You get your mother back and Emma gets another person in your family to accept her as a princess," Patrick said.  
  
The wizard then added, "Actually, it also good proof of Niphredil's ability. Dumbledore will probably want to meet with your mother."  
  
The wizard took leave of the elf and began searching out Niphredil. He wanted James, Chris, Daisy, and Lily to meet the elf that had helped them. He knew that they had already met, the day they she had saved them, but she wasn't herself that day. He found her talking to Minerva McGonagall. The elf was trying to explain what she had done to rescue the Potter's and the Dolan's.  
  
"But I'm not evil, really. My great-grandmother says that it's a skill because all elves have some magical ability," the elf told the wizard.  
  
"Excuse me, Minerva, but can I borrow Niphredil for a moment?" Patrick asked the other wizard.  
  
"May I ask why?" Minerva asked.  
  
"I just want her to meet the people she rescued and their kids," Patrick answered.  
  
"Where are we going?" Niphredil asked Patrick, as they walked.  
  
"Don't worry, it won't be far," Patrick replied. 


	14. Forming a Link

AN: Hi everyone! I'd, as usual, like to thank my two great reviewers. (Takes off her green, pin covered NY Mets baseball cap)  
  
Lindiel: Emma is indeed Legolas's sister but their mother wasn't the one who brought James and company back. That was Niphredil, who also happened to bring back his mother.  
  
PixiePea000: I have a strange obsession with linking all my stories together. There will be a few more links coming up soon. By the way, GOLLUM!  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing! My characters are the extended Dolan family, the Americans witches and wizard, and everything about Hound's Hollow. I'm just a broke college student who writes for fun and to pass time between classes. I only own my Pointe Shoes.  
  
"It's good to see you again. You look so much better," Patrick told the elf.  
  
The elf, who was slightly older than Emma, had her long black hair braided down the middle of her back and was wearing long black pants and a belted forest green tunic. Unlike Emma, who was not carrying any visible weapon, Niphredil had a sword at her side and a quiver and bow on her back.  
  
"Out with your father and the Rangers?" Patrick asked the elf.  
  
"Yes and no. I was out with my uncles and the Rangers," she answered.  
  
"Anyone I know in the group?" Patrick wondered.  
  
He had met several different groups of Rangers during his travels in and around Middle Earth. Some of the groups had, even, bailed him out of trouble.  
  
"Yeah, two Rangers told me to tell you that they're fine and that Wiggy, Goose, Spike, Bass, and Mac send their regards," the elf told the wizard, remembering a message she had been told.  
  
Patrick laughed, brightly, and said, "Fire and Ice, right? They then I miss them and tell the others to be good and stay out of trouble," Patrick said.  
  
He took the elf to his office and told her to stay put. Niphredil nodded and climbed onto the windowsill. She opened the window and began to call to the birds in the trees. Patrick smiled to himself. He had heard, from a few different sources, that she used to do that when she was little.  
  
Shutting the door behind him, Patrick began to seek out the Potter's and the Dolan's.  
  
He found Lily and James outside with Sirius and Harry. Harry was recounting his adventure in the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Harry was getting to the part about the maze when Patrick interrupted.  
  
"I'm sorry to interrupted you, Harry, but there's someone here I'd like you and your parents to meet," he said.  
  
Sirius looked at Patrick, sadly, causing the wizard to add, "You can come, too, Black."  
  
"Where are we going?" Lily asked.  
  
"Just meet me in the hall by my office. Whatever you do, though, do not go in my office," Patrick said, immediately regretting saying the last part.  
  
He knew that simple statement would make the contents of his office irresistible to James and Sirius.  
  
Patrick, leaving Harry, James, Lily, and Sirius in the hallway by his office, went looking for his brother, sister-in-law, and niece.  
  
He searched the entire house and found them sitting in the kitchen. Someone, probably Daisy, had made a large bowl of popcorn.  
  
The three wizards were sitting at the table and Cora was telling them about the day her cat, Mideon, met her bird, Nightwing. Patrick remembered that day well. For a while, it looked like the cat and bird weren't going to get along and they were going to have to get rid of one of the pets. The two pets, eventually, decided to get along and all was well. He couldn't remember why that story was so memorable.  
  
"What's going on, guys?" Patrick asked, taking a handful of popcorn.  
  
"Nothing much, big brother. Where have you been all day?' Chris asked.  
  
"Around. Look, I hate to interrupt but can you guys come with me for a while?" Patrick asked.  
  
"Can Cora come?" Daisy asked.  
  
Since she had come back, Daisy wanted to spend lots of time with Cora.  
  
"Of course," Patrick said.  
  
They walked the length of the house, heading toward Patrick's office.  
  
"Why am I not surprised?" Patrick thought to himself as he approached the hall where his office was located.  
  
Instead of seeing a door covered with stars-Cora had put the stars on the door when she was little- there was a cloud of smoke.  
  
He didn't see Sirius but he did spot Lily, James, and Harry. Harry and James were laughing.  
  
"What happened here?' he asked Lily.  
  
"Well, Sirius were curious about what you were hiding in you office and he blew the door off," Lily answered.  
  
"Blew the door off," Patrick mumbled to himself, "Oh No!"  
  
"Nothing came out of my office, right?" he asked, in a hurried voice.  
  
"Not that we saw. But, Patrick, Sirius hasn't come out of your office yet," James replied.  
  
Patrick nodded and entered his office.   
  
The wizard found Niphredil, sword in hand, standing on his desk and Sirius standing stock still in front of her.  
  
"Niphredil," Patrick started, calmly, "Put the sword away."  
  
The elf shook her head and said, "He attacked me."  
  
Patrick looked the elf in her eyes and, knowing that she trusted him, said, "Sirius was just curious to see what I had in my office and he blew the door off. He didn't know you were in here and he wouldn't hurt you."  
  
The elf looked from Patrick to Sirius and back again. She, then, saluted Patrick with her sword and placed in back in its sheath. Making no sound, she jumped off the desk.  
  
"Don't try anything else," Patrick warned Sirius as he left the office.  
  
He motioned for the other to come into the door less office. He dusted off a few chairs and a couch and motioned for the others to sit. He sat behind his desk, watching as Niphredil settled herself on the windowsill again.  
  
"I know you've met before but Lily, James, Daisy, Chris this is Niphredil. She's the elf that rescued you," Patrick said.  
  
"She looks different," commented Chris.  
  
"I was with my great-grandmother, then. I'm back home with my parents now," she said.  
  
"Your parents let you carry a sword?" Sirius quipped.  
  
"Niphredil, that's Sirius Black but I do believe both of you have met already," Patrick said with a smile on his face.  
  
The elf looked at the shaggy wizard and smiled, hoping he had forgiven her for her confusion.  
  
"I was raised by, um---, Muggles and I am a black belt in Tae Kwan Do. I've won many awards for handling a sword," Niphredil told Sirius.  
  
Then she added, "No hard feelings, for what happened earlier, right?"  
  
"Just a simple misunderstanding. I won't hold it against you," Sirius answered.  
  
The elf spoke with the adults for a few for minutes but kept her eyes on the two young wizards.  
  
"Patrick," she asked, "who are they?"  
  
"My apologies, I forgot to introduce them. That young man is Harry Potter, Lily and James's son, and the young girl is my niece Cora Dolan, Daisy and Chris's daughter," Patrick replied.  
  
"See, I told you. They don't look like house elves," Cora said.  
  
Harry nodded and decided that she was right.  
  
Niphredil looked, questioningly, at Patrick and he told her, "House elves are the only elves most wizards here know."  
  
"You're the one who brought our parents back?" Harry asked.  
  
"I am that elf. I know I don't look like a great wizard but my entire kind has some magic," she explained.  
  
"What kind of magic?" Cora asked.  
  
"I don't really know how to explain it the right way but we all do. My great grandmother can see things in this basin type thing, and my grandfather is a healer," the elf replied.  
  
Patrick sat back, listening to the conversation as it progressed from talking about elves to Middle Earth to the Wizarding World and back again. He smiled, glad to have created yet another link between the two worlds---a link other than himself. 


	15. Talk of Quiddich

AN: I'm sorry, I haven't updated in ages. School's been really crazy, especially this one class I'm taking. They professor is really out of his mind. I'm going to do some major updating now! As usual, thanks to my two reviewers! You guys are the best!  
  
Later that night, Anne invited the entire group to a large dinner. The four American children, as well as their parents, were there along with all the Weasleys and Hermione. Patrick introduced the groups from Middle Earth to all the other wizards. Emma and Niphredil, thinking themselves to be no different from any other youth, spent most of their time talking to all the young wizards. Legolas and Elrond's sons spent all their time interjecting themselves into their conversation. The rest of the adults spent their time talking, save for Dumbledore, Gandalf, and Radgast.  
  
"Did you ever tell Patrick that we all know each other?" Radgast asked Dumbledore.  
  
"Not yet. I will get around to telling him, eventually," Dumbledore said.  
  
The three wizards laughed, knowingly. Dumbledore had met Gandalf while teaching transfigurations at Hogwarts several years ago. Gandalf and Dumbledore had hit it off quite well, even thought Dumbledore was many years younger than Gandalf.  
  
"Are all those children wizards in training?' Radgast asked Dumbledore.  
  
The brown-clad wizard tended to spend his time among the birds and beasts and had been watching the birds outside instead of paying attention.  
  
"Yes they are, Radgast. They will all be in Hogwarts next year," Dumbledore replied.  
  
"Including those four from the America place?" Gandalf questioned.  
  
"Including those four," Dumbledore replied.  
  
Gandalf made a sour looking face, causing Dumbledore to ask, "Is there something wrong?"  
  
"One of those kids has great power, Albus," said the white wizard.  
  
Dumbledore looked confused and asked, "Can you tell which one?"  
  
He knew Harry, particularly, was going to grow up to be powerful wizard but he wasn't sure who else.  
  
"Not directly, Albus. All I can tell you is that, she's very strong," Gandalf answered.  
  
"She," Dumbledore thought to himself, "that narrows it down to Hermione, Ginny, Meghan, Christine, and Ashley."  
  
"Why do you look so nervous?" Niphredil asked Cora, Glendon, and the Americans.  
  
They were all talking quickly amongst themselves and making all kinds of motions with their hands.  
  
"Tomorrow is the final game of our Quiddich seasons and we're going for the Wild Card," Meghan said.  
  
"Quiddich?" said one elf.  
  
"Wild Card?" said the other who looked just like his brother.  
  
"Quiddich is a sport played on broomsticks," said Glendon.  
  
"The wild card is the label given to the fourth team going to the finals. We win tomorrow and we go the play-offs," Meghan said.  
  
"Play-offs?" Legolas asked.  
  
The young wizards laughed at the elves questions. It seemed funny, to them, that they didn't understand these phrases.  
  
"The play-offs are an elimination style tournament where the first place team plays the wild card team and the second place team plays the third place team. The winners of those two games play each other to determine the overall winner," Ashley, quietly, explained.  
  
As usual, Ashley hadn't spoken much during dinner. She seemed to lack the energy to argue with her sister, who seemed to have very strong opinions and no qualms about expressing them. Her quietness was, actually, the result of two different things. She didn't like to start fights and she was both painfully shy and introverted. No one could explain her introversion. Everyone around her, from when she was a baby, was loud and extroverted.  
  
"Would you guys like to come to our Quiddich match tomorrow?' Danny, suddenly, asked.  
  
The elves looked at one another.  
  
"We would love to, my friend, but we will have to ask our father first,' said one of the twins.  
  
"You mean to tell me, that you two are, like, a couple of thousand years old and you still have to ask for your father's permission. Don't let him talk to our mother or she'll never let me and Ashley go out alone," Meghan exclaimed.  
  
"I think what they mean is that they have to ask because they're in a weird place and they don't know if it's safe for them to go," Hermione told Meghan.  
  
"Precisely," said the other twin. Emma looked to her older brother for an answer, as she did when they were home.  
  
"I know father put me in charge, little elf, but we will have to ask my mother. Is that alright with you?" Legolas told his sister.  
  
The little elf nodded, accepting her older brother's answer.  
  
"What about you?' asked Glendon.  
  
"I'll have to ask my parents or, at least, my dad if I can come but I'll come if they say yes," Niphredil answered.  
  
"It'll be a good time," Gillian added, speaking up for the first time.  
  
"We shall see, we shall see," the twin elves said. 


	16. The Somewhat Big Game

Disclaimer: I own nothing! My characters are the extended Dolan family, the Americans witches and wizard, and everything about Hound's Hollow. I'm just a broke college student who writes for fun and to pass time between classes. I only own my Pointe Shoes.  
  
The next day, Glendon, Cora, Harry, Ashley, Meghan, Danny, and Gillian, the latter four had spent the night at Hound's Tooth, were up bright and early. Each of them looked supremely nervous about the day's Quiddich game.  
  
"Cora, who are we playing? You never told me," Harry asked his cousin.  
  
"Our team, the Hounds, is playing the first place team the Bogton Banshees," Cora answered.  
  
"They're the best team in the league," added Glendon.  
  
"No, Glendon, we're the best team in the league. They've just won one more game than we did and they cheated to win anyway," Meghan said.  
  
"Cheated?" Harry asked.  
  
"It wasn't against us. It was against the Middlebrook Muddogs and we're not sure how they did it in the first place," Danny answered.  
  
"What kinds of brooms do all of you ride?" Harry asked, changing the subject.  
  
Then, he added, "I have a Firebolt."  
  
"Way cool! Me, too," exclaimed Cora.  
  
"Nimbus 2001 over here," Gillian called  
  
"I have a Mercury," Danny said.  
  
"Ashley and I have Hermes," Meghan added.  
  
"Mercury? Hermes? I've never heard of those kinds of brooms," Harry questioned.  
  
"They're Americans brands, akin to the Firebolt in speed and power. The Mercury is the male version of the Hermes," explained Ashley, in her usual quiet voice.  
  
"How are brooms male and female made?" Harry asked, never hearing anything like this.  
  
"The male brooms are a little heavier than the female brooms. It adds to the stability of the broom," Ashley explained.  
  
The members of the team began leaving the table in dribs and drabs, with Ashley leaving first.  
  
"Does she always leave first?" Harry asked, Cora and Glendon.  
  
They were the only three left since Danny, Meghan, and Gillian had gone soon after Ashley. They were hoping to catch up with her.  
  
"Yeah, she likes to get to the field early and get everything set up for the game," Glendon answered.  
  
Before the three wizards left, Harry ran upstairs and got his broom.  
  
"Alright, let's go," Harry said.  
  
He followed Cora and Glendon to the Quiddich pitch.  
  
When the Quiddich team left, the rest of the wizards, and Patrick's guests, came downstairs.  
  
"Look at this mess. These kids can't clean up after themselves," Anne complained, looking at the pile of dishes in the sink.  
  
"Mom, they're nervous. They probably wanted to get to the field right away," Patrick told his mother.  
  
"What does it matter? They're going to get destroyed by the Banshees," Conner, offhandedly, said.  
  
"You know what, you've bad mouth the Hounds for long enough. You're not coming today," Patrick told his son.  
  
"Good, I didn't want to come anyway," he said, going back upstairs.  
  
Kathleen gave her husband a dirty look and followed her son upstairs.  
  
"I don't know what you put up with her, Patrick," Daisy said, with a smile.  
  
The group sat down to a very large breakfast.  
  
"We're all going today, right?" Patrick asked.  
  
He knew Chris and Daisy, as well as James and Lily, we anxious to see their children play Quiddich for the first time. He wasn't sure about the rest of them.  
  
"I don't know. Do we have time to see a Quiddich match, Mr. Lupin?" Sirius asked, laughing.  
  
"My wife and I were planning on going anyway, Mr. Black. Gilly's on the team, remember," Lupin replied, laughing.  
  
Since James came back, the three wizards were back to their old tricks. Madison just shook her head in silent abdication of her husband's new found attitude.  
  
Patrick, then, looked to his guests.  
  
"You know what guys, you're coming with up. I can promise you that you've never seen anything like this anywhere in Middle Earth," Patrick said.  
  
The group seemed to agree with Patrick's course of action.  
  
"Um, Patrick, is it going to be ok for us to out like this?" Niphredil asked, referring to their unusual mode of dress.  
  
"We'll dig something out for all of you to wear," Patrick replied, realizing that their clothing would get them stared at and make for uncomfortable questions.  
  
  
  
Meanwhile, Harry, Cora, and Glendon arrived at the Quiddich Pitch. They were met by Kevin, the Quiddich coach, and his young daughters, Siobhan and Kelly Anne. The two sisters played for the Junior team and would be attending Hogwarts in the fall.  
  
"Everyone's already in their locker rooms. Make sure you hurry because the captain wants to talk to all of you before the game," Kevin said.  
  
Since the players were expected to wear everyday clothing under their Quiddich robes, there was one locker room.  
  
Upon entering the crowded locker room, the three wizards found most of their teammates already dressed.  
  
Each robe was cream colored with black trim and a vicious looking black hound on the front. The player's name and number could be found on the back of the robe. Harry put his robe and pads on and scanned the names and number on the back of every robe.  
  
He knew he was number seven, since he had asked for that number. He read the rest of the names and numbers to himself.  
  
"A. O'Shea 45, M. O'Shea 11, Lupin 31, Dolan 3, McIntyre 48, Callaghan 13," he mumbled to himself.  
  
The entire locker room seemed to be on edge, waiting for the captain to arrive.  
  
Suddenly, Ashley jumped up on one of the benches that line the areas in front of the lockers.  
  
It was then Harry noticed the large, black letter "C" on the front of her robe.  
  
"She's the captain," Harry said, incredulously.  
  
She seemed to quiet for the job.  
  
"Yup and a darn good one, too," Danny said.  
  
She banged on the lockers to get the team's attention.  
  
"Listen up guys! I just want to say that we've had a great season and each and every one of us had something to be proud of. We're not the first place team we wanted to be but we're in contention. So what, prior to this year, we've finished is last or next to last place! Throw out the fact that we haven't won the Quiddich championship in like 30 years! Ignore the fact that last year, under Conner, we lost every home game last season! I know we all want to go to the final four but we have to concentrate on today's team. Now, let's go out there and fly!" Ashley said jumping off her bench.  
  
"Hands in!" Meghan called.  
  
Each wizard put their right hand in the center of the circle and held their broom in their left.  
  
"Remember, no one comes into out house and..." started Ashley.  
  
"Pushes us around!'" called the rest of the team, including Harry who had been told of this tradition by Cora.  
  
They entered the waiting area, just off the field.  
  
"They're going to introduce the other team first," Glendon said.  
  
"Who does the announcing?" Harry asked.  
  
"Kevin the Quiddich coach and his friend, Mike," Gillian replied.  
  
The team got quiet and listened to the announcement of their opponents.  
  
"Let's give a Hound's Hollow welcome to the defending champion, Bogton Banshees," called Mike to a chorus of boos. "Introducing the Banshees starting line-up: Seeker, number two Lauren Gallagher, Keeper, number fifty-one, Eileen Gallagher, Beaters, number eleven, Chipper Sheffield and, number twenty-five, Jason Jones, Chasers, number twenty-one, Thomas Maddox, number ninety-nine, Greg Glavine, and, number five, captain Angelo Gallagher," announced Kevin to an even louder chorus of boos.  
  
"And now, here are your Hound's Hollow Hounds!" called Mike.  
  
The crowd erupted, screaming as loud as they could.  
  
When they had quieted down, Kevin announced, "Here's today's Hound's line- up: Seeker, number seven, Hogwart's own Harry Potter! Keeper, number three, Cora "The Block" Dolan! Beaters, the meanest swingers in Hound's Hollow, number eleven, Meghan O'Shea, and, number thirteen, Danny Callaghan. Chasers, number thirty-one, the everyone's favorite wolf, Gillian Lupin, number forty-eight, Glendon "Lefty" McIntyre, and the first female captain of the Hounds, Ashley O'Shea!"  
  
The team flew onto the field, basking in the adulation of the masses.  
  
The referee was announced as being Harry's flying instructor Madame Hooch.  
  
"I guess they really want this to be a fair match," Meghan whispered to the team.  
  
"Why?" asked Harry.  
  
"That team cheats like no body's business," Glendon replied.  
  
"Captains, please shake hands. I want a good clean game," Madame Hooch said.  
  
Ashley stepped up and held out her hand to the Banshee's captain, Angelo. He was a very tall; broad shouldered, and had curly black hair. The Hound's captain looked very tiny compared to him. He held out his hand but ran it through his hair instead of shaking Ashley's hand. The crowd yelled their displeasure at this action.  
  
"On my whistle," Madame Hooch said, after Ashley and Angelo had mounted their brooms.  
  
She blew her whistle and the match began.  
  
It was a brutal match with the Banshee's trying to cheat at every turn. It seemed that they were out to get the smaller Hounds.  
  
Halfway through the match, Ashley had to call for a time out. Though her team was winning by fifty points, she was worried about the physical shape of her team.  
  
The group landed on the side lines and Ashley took stock of her team. Meghan and Danny looked to be in relatively good shape.  
  
Meghan called for Madame Hooch to come over.  
  
"My club's broken and I can't find my spare," she told the ref.  
  
The Hogwarts teacher took the club from Meghan and repaired it with a simple spell.  
  
She handed the club back to Meghan.  
  
"Thanks," the younger wizard said.  
  
Harry looked a little askew but that was to be expected for a seeker. They were a constant target on the field.  
  
Cora had gone over to the Medi-Wizard to get her nosebleed stopped. She had blocked a shot with the Quaffle but took a bludger to the face.  
  
Danny and Gillian seemed to be nursing a couple of bruises.  
  
Ashley, herself, had some bruises but she was otherwise fine.  
  
"Look guys," Ashley started, "We need to get the Snitch and keep them from scoring. Alright, here's what we're going to do. Meghan, you're going to fly with Harry but stay out of his way. Danny, you make sure Cora doesn't take another shot in the face like that. By the way, where were you two for that? Gillian, Glendon and I are going to play a little game of keep away with the Quaffle."  
  
The team nodded their agreement and put their hands in.  
  
"Remember, no one comes in out house and...." she started.  
  
"Pushes us around!" the rest of the team called. The Hound's took to the air again.  
  
The team couldn't believe it but, then again, neither to the crowd. The Hound's had won and were going to the finals. Harry, just after the time out, had gone after the Snitch. He and the Banshee Seeker, Lauren, entered dangerous looking nose dives with Harry coming up with the Snitch. The Hound's all landed and piled on top of Harry. The whole stadium kept cheering. The team didn't even bother going back to the locker room. They met their family and friends outside the stadium in their dirty robes.  
  
The dirty Quiddich team ran into the arms of their waiting parents. There was a lot of shouting and yelling on everyone's part.  
  
"Team party, my house, right now," Mrs. O'Shea said.  
  
The team took their party down to the Ministry House. 


End file.
